Blogs from Belgium, Europe - page 8

I've fallen well behind. The day before yesterday we were in Antwerp, famous for, among other things, being the birthplace of Peter Paul Rubens, one of the great artists of Holland's Golden Age (16th-17th centuries). The formal tour that morning included a visit to the cathedral, to Rubens’ house and collection, and some other historical sites. We decided to forgo the formal tour and explore on our own. Every place, every museum, was within walking distance, except for one, a private gallery of a collector named Axel Vervoodt. Vervoodt is an international art dealer, a collector of antiques and contemporary art, an interior designer, and real estate developer who’s latest project is the development of a cultural and residential complex at the site of an old distillery just outside of town. We planned to save that ... read more

Anyone who reads my utterings knows I like eastern philosophy . They also know I have a calendar which offers me pearls of wisdom each morning. Sometimes the words are short and pithy. I understand them easily and they resonate well with me. Other times they go on and on, rambling missives that mean nothing to me. Today Swami Vivekananda was offering a long thought for the day around success and ideas. I guess it did resound well when I read the first line. " Take up one idea " "Make that one idea your life - think of it, live on that idea" Our one idea at the moment was Gabby and the Sat Nav . We slept poorly as we thought about Gabby. Was she safe? When she is not under your feet you ... read more

Nuz toto je jedna z mojich najhorsich resp najhorsia krajina na tripe. (dost sa na hodnoteni podpisalo aj zle pocasie,mozno za slnecneho dna by to inak vyzeralo) Hodnotim francuzsku cast. Mesta preplnene divnymi existenciami. Ludia tu boli arogantny a o ang sa vacsine ani nesnivalo. Jedlo v restikach mega drahe, vsetko zachranovali fastfoody. Pozitivum aspon bola pitna voda z kohutika. Prekvapenie na vianocnych trhoch, v kazdom mestecku ruske kolo. Dost ma serie, ze sa mi nepodarilo dostat na futbal v liege. CHARLEROI Mesto duchov. Ani vecer ani rano skoro ziadny ludia na ulici. Jedno namestie, pekne ale ako kazde ine europske. I tu maju mini stvrt kde sa za bieleho dna daju zohnat drogy resp kurvy. Potesila aspon mini turistika na blizky umely kopec, kde som stretol fajn domaceho. Mestecko max na 2 hodinky. Navstevu odporucam ... read more

Posledna zastavka pred domovom. Isiel som sem iba kvoli futbalu. To splnilo ucel na sto percent, bolo vsetko co bolo treba ked idu fans na vyjazd a zostanu v meste viac noci. Po futbale som zamieril na sever. Ten ked porovnam s francuzskou castou tak uplne super. BRUSEL totalna diera europy. Vsade vsetci vystraseny z terorizmu, policia uplne na smiech, nebezpecne stvrte kam ani policia nechodi, v uliciach spiaci mirgranti s celymi rodinami, cernosi na ulici predavajuci drogy, vyklady plne kuriev, centrum mesta rozkopane, vsade betonove bariery. Toto mesto fakt jeden velky hnus. Ok boli sme len na troch miestach ale ozaj stacilo. Nikdy vice, resp zapadna europa, hlavne francuzsky hovoriacia uz nikdy v zivote. GENT paradne mestecko, ktore odporucam navstivit. Pekne kanaly, budovy, namesticka, normalny ludia, turistov minimum. Mal som stastie na super cs BRUGGY ... read more

Dnes mala jedna skupinka na plane mestecko gent ale jaksi nevydalo. Opat vianocne trhy. Davame belgicke wafle (vela kriku pre nic, rovnake vsade na svete), varene vinko. Nasavame vianocnu atmosferu. Odskrkavame si dalsiu ikonu bruselu. Curajuceho chlapca co je totalny tourist trap. Fakt to nestoji za navstevu. Mala postavicka kokotika. Nasi zajtra skoro rano letia domov, ja si pospim do 9.00 a smer ghent kde mam mojho posledneho cs a prakticky to bude aj moja posledna noc na ceste. V pondelok navrat domov po 309.dnoch. No ale fakt ma to moc nelaka ked pozeram okolo sebe co sa deje v europe. Rusko vs ukrajina, roztahujuci sa imigranti v belgicku, zatahy na drogovych dilerov v seredi. Proste nic pozitovne. Uvidim ci tu vydrzim do toho maja, vtedy smer ukrajina, iran, azerbajdzan, armensko, gruzinsko. Mozno sa na to ... read more